Posted in: Board Games, Games, Review | Tagged: d&d, DnD, dungeons & dragons, Roll 20, Tomb Of Annihilation

Making Our Way Through Roll20's Version Of 'Tomb Of Annihilation'

Roll20 has always been able to work out awesome deals with Wizards Of The Coast to bring their Dungeons & Dragons content to the app. Back in September, the two companies partnered up again to bring you their version of Tomb Of Annihilation, the most recent adventure module for D&D. We got our hands on a press copy and played out way through the adventure as best we could to give you a proper review.

First and foremost, everything you could possibly need from the book is here. There's some flavor text missing when I compared the two side-by-side, but all the essentials are here from maps to story possibilities to guidelines and conditions to the monster stats. If you're a DM wanting to play this with a group, you'll have everything you need to make the adventure worthwhile, and if you feel like you need the missing bits and pieces that are mainly there to enhance the story, take comfort in the idea that you are a creative individual and you can fill in the blanks where needed.

Keeping on the visuals side of things, I found this app worked great when we plugged a laptop into a professional gaming table and displayed all the information on the screen for people to check out. There's a lot of playing room for people when using this as you can set things up to reveal portions of the map or special text on the screen or give information as needed to players as they pop into certain areas. We didn't have too many issues with connectivity and understanding when it came to what was happening in the adventure, at least, not with the materials provided. The DM has the ability to make sure everything you need to know is there for the taking since the app has assured them of what's going on.

As for the player aspect to the adventure, there's a bit of hit-and-miss when it comes to utilizing what's here. The maps are mighty helpful along with the random visuals you'll encounter, but occasionally the game's text leaves much to be desired on the player's part. Yes, I know, it's up to the DM to take charge and make everything they have work, but I feel like there's a spark missing here with the app that doesn't play off well sometimes. A little hard to put my finger on it, it's more of an in-the-moment kind of thing. At some point in time, I felt like there was a disconnect for a few adventures and we didn't seem to get it back until Chapter 6.

Overall, the app edition of Tomb Of Annihilation isn't too shabby. There are definitely some things that probably need to be ironed out a bit, but for the most part, everything worked out. Give it a shot if you're looking to run an adventure strictly through digital means.

Enjoyed this? Please share on social media!

Stay up-to-date and support the site by following Bleeding Cool on Google News today!